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Feb 1, 2013
02/13
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assume that he gets confirmed, he has to be a tough -- a tough guy at the pentagon. he is going to be tough with congress. he has to deal with the potential of the sequester, fighting for the budget that he does get, dealing with all of the problems that come at you when you are in charge of the pentagon and the generals and the other members of the joint chiefs are going to feel they can run over him. >> we'll see about that. i assume that every general with any number of stars was watching intently yesterday, and might have had that thought in mind. you said another important word, which is sequester. it's going to be a huge mess over there trying to, first, anticipate this, and then deal with whatever the new reality is. i do think that it was ugly yesterday. it was ugly on both sides. the white house wasn't so much from what i heard defending his performance as saying that those mean republicans also performed in an ugly and bad and not very attractive way. i don't think anybody looked particularly good in that showdown. i also think it's very clear that this is,
assume that he gets confirmed, he has to be a tough -- a tough guy at the pentagon. he is going to be tough with congress. he has to deal with the potential of the sequester, fighting for the budget that he does get, dealing with all of the problems that come at you when you are in charge of the pentagon and the generals and the other members of the joint chiefs are going to feel they can run over him. >> we'll see about that. i assume that every general with any number of stars was...
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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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the sequester and how the pentagon budget will proceed. what's it going to mean between congress and the pentagon once hagel is in charge after they made him go through this? >> if the president thought by having a republican in the cabinet at the pentagon he was going to buy any kind of loyalty or relationship with republican senators, he can think again about that. because this simply isn't happening. chuck hagel is not going to have relationships with people who humiliated him to this degree. secondly, he was weakened by his own poor performance. and whether he was playing rope a dope and this was a tactic to not pick a fight and get in an argument with john mccain and the others on the committee that he would then have to work with, he didn't fight back enough. claire mccaskill and other democrats, claire you saw on our show and other forums saying, look. he clearly is better at asking questions than answering questions. but still came strongly to his defense as did the other democrats on the committee. saying joe manchin and others sa
the sequester and how the pentagon budget will proceed. what's it going to mean between congress and the pentagon once hagel is in charge after they made him go through this? >> if the president thought by having a republican in the cabinet at the pentagon he was going to buy any kind of loyalty or relationship with republican senators, he can think again about that. because this simply isn't happening. chuck hagel is not going to have relationships with people who humiliated him to this...
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Feb 19, 2013
02/13
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he had been nominated, and they had told us only five or six days ago that he was still -- the pentagon still wants him to take that position. he was temporarily sidelined by an inquiry into whether they were inappropriate emails between him and jill kelly, the tampa woman involved in the whole petraeus situation, and then he was cleared of any wrong doing by the pentagon. >> you know, we're told now that this -- i mean, this is a sad episode. we're told he did not want to come to -- his family would be involved, and he would have to answer questions. >> you know, draen, i think this shows you that even when you are cleared now the damage done. it's -- it seems hard for me to believe that if the whole jill kelly episode hpt ever aired publicly, that he would have decided he would have wanted to step aside. it seemed like he was on the fast track to get that job. these things -- i think what everyone forgets, this is true with military, this is true with particularly at that level, and it's absolutely true of politicians. these people are people. the focus of the coverage of these emails
he had been nominated, and they had told us only five or six days ago that he was still -- the pentagon still wants him to take that position. he was temporarily sidelined by an inquiry into whether they were inappropriate emails between him and jill kelly, the tampa woman involved in the whole petraeus situation, and then he was cleared of any wrong doing by the pentagon. >> you know, we're told now that this -- i mean, this is a sad episode. we're told he did not want to come to -- his...
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Feb 26, 2013
02/13
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>> you would have to talk to somebody other than the pentagon. we don't talk to those operational matters because they don't involve us. yes. >> they don't involve us. you have to talk to somebody -- not here. i refer your questions to other people. i think he is talking about the cia. let's check with the cia then to see how the cia handles these questions at their daily press briefs. all right. they don't do that. and so that's where questions about this policy go to die. this week in addition to the chuck hagel defense secretary nomination, the senate is expected to advance president obama's nominee to head the cia, john brennan. senator john mccain is proposing holding up the nomination of john brennan because, well, john mccain. but even in the midst of that conflict, there is an interesting confluence of opinion right now that something major should be changed in mr. brennan's field of expertise. mr. brennan broached the subject in a "washington post" profile that ran about him last october. the acting director of the cia from whom mr. bren
>> you would have to talk to somebody other than the pentagon. we don't talk to those operational matters because they don't involve us. yes. >> they don't involve us. you have to talk to somebody -- not here. i refer your questions to other people. i think he is talking about the cia. let's check with the cia then to see how the cia handles these questions at their daily press briefs. all right. they don't do that. and so that's where questions about this policy go to die. this...
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Feb 12, 2013
02/13
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. >> tonight instead of focusing on how the budget cuts will effect the pentagon, president obama will focus on the middle class, cuts to head start, research and thousands of government jobs. >> his emphasis on the need to continue to create jobs or to continue to have our manufacturing sector expand, that work isn't done. >> reporter: in the audience tonight, the parents of a slain chicago teenager who just marched in the inaugural parade. >> i'm happy that murder of hadiya will get guns off the street. >> reporter: the president is expected to address immigration reform, a move that may have more impact outside washington. >> the goal is to move public opinion because that's what moves congress. >> reporter: lawmakers and former lawmakers on both sides say his clear focus must be the budget. >> if we don't get it under control fairly soon and have congress and the president lead us in this area, then we will end up with a nation which is insolvent. >> reporter: republicans are criticizing what happens after tonight's speech. president obama hits the road three cities in three days t
. >> tonight instead of focusing on how the budget cuts will effect the pentagon, president obama will focus on the middle class, cuts to head start, research and thousands of government jobs. >> his emphasis on the need to continue to create jobs or to continue to have our manufacturing sector expand, that work isn't done. >> reporter: in the audience tonight, the parents of a slain chicago teenager who just marched in the inaugural parade. >> i'm happy that murder of...
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Feb 8, 2013
02/13
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that this sequester is -- because of its sort of blunder bust approach that it does not permit the pentagon to make intelligent choices about what is needed, so it is going to get to readiness. ready city council what we need. >> this is the absurdness of washington. >> the white house proposed th-- >> proposing to get agreement on this. now the new strategy is, yeah, but you can't let that sequester happen because the spending cuts would be so awful when, in fact, there are democrats like dick durbin who will be on the program sunday who have said he doesn't really have a problem with the amount of spending cuts in the pentagon. it's a matter of how you go about doing it. republicans i think also have some leverage here by saying, you know, if you really get us down to it, if have to swallow these spending cuts, we're going take them because that might be good. you got your revenues there. zoolt sequester, we don't like it, but before it on. >> there's a lot of pain. particularly if are you from virginia and you have military cuts coming down your way, this is tough. spending cuts are toug
that this sequester is -- because of its sort of blunder bust approach that it does not permit the pentagon to make intelligent choices about what is needed, so it is going to get to readiness. ready city council what we need. >> this is the absurdness of washington. >> the white house proposed th-- >> proposing to get agreement on this. now the new strategy is, yeah, but you can't let that sequester happen because the spending cuts would be so awful when, in fact, there are...
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Feb 9, 2013
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pentagon hasn't had any significant cuts for 30 years. a lot of money that's going to be cut is money that was not asked for but the pentagon was put in by bloated congress people who wanted to do stuff for people in their district. i'm a fairly hawkish on defense, but this is an enterprise that hasn't been touched for 30 years and this may be our only chance. >> that's interesting sort of where the two sides come together, which is to say members of the progressive left think this is the only time we're going to get these defense cuts and deficit hawks, conservatives, tea partiers are putting moderate republicans in a bind saying this is cutting our deficit. let's go for it. >> the grand irony, of course, is the fact that the number -- if you poll people their number one issue is jobs, right? it continues to be jobs. and $120 billion austerity crunch, the numbers being bantered around, in exchange for the sequester, which is like $85 billion. whatever it is, right, that's a big chunk. that will have an effect, negative jobs effect, no qu
pentagon hasn't had any significant cuts for 30 years. a lot of money that's going to be cut is money that was not asked for but the pentagon was put in by bloated congress people who wanted to do stuff for people in their district. i'm a fairly hawkish on defense, but this is an enterprise that hasn't been touched for 30 years and this may be our only chance. >> that's interesting sort of where the two sides come together, which is to say members of the progressive left think this is the...
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Feb 5, 2013
02/13
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brennan and his speech at harvard by jay johnson, the former head -- the former lead counsel at the pentagon. and by eric holder today. but eric holder seemed to be either conflating or combining imminent threat with ongoing threat. tell me about the memo itself. >> that is exactly the rub. they have -- it is certainly true that administration officials, all those you mentioned, have articulated that it is the bottom administration policy that targeted killings of americans who are associated with al qaeda are lawful and constitutional under certain conditions, and the first concern is that the individual poses an imminent threat of a violent attack against the united states. in other words, capture is not feasible, and the operation is done according to law or principles. what this memo does, which is not something that has been public, is flesh that out and provide details about what they mean by that, and one of those striking points is when they get to defining imminent threat. they talk about a broader -- the memo explicitly says that they have intelligence that the targeted individual
brennan and his speech at harvard by jay johnson, the former head -- the former lead counsel at the pentagon. and by eric holder today. but eric holder seemed to be either conflating or combining imminent threat with ongoing threat. tell me about the memo itself. >> that is exactly the rub. they have -- it is certainly true that administration officials, all those you mentioned, have articulated that it is the bottom administration policy that targeted killings of americans who are...
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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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what specifically should the pentagon be doing to combat this? >> well, you know, since the film has come out, there's certainly a realization that this is a very, very serious problem. in fact, the military is using the film as part of its sexual assault training. today we estimate more than 250,000 men and women within the military have seen the film. >> wow. >> what they really need to do, though, is change the way they approach this. right now the way they investigate and prosecute -- the decision to investigate and prosecute these crimes is made within the chain of command and as a result men and women don't report because they perceive there are conflicts of interest. if they don't report, these serial predators go on to assault again and again. it moves to be moved outside the chain of command with independent prosecutors and investigators making the decision. the military is fighting back on this right now. i still think they don't get it. they've had 40 years to solve this problem and they've failed. they have to make these structural pr
what specifically should the pentagon be doing to combat this? >> well, you know, since the film has come out, there's certainly a realization that this is a very, very serious problem. in fact, the military is using the film as part of its sexual assault training. today we estimate more than 250,000 men and women within the military have seen the film. >> wow. >> what they really need to do, though, is change the way they approach this. right now the way they investigate and...
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Feb 25, 2013
02/13
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what's amazing is they want austerity at the expense of the pentagon, and that was the whole purpose of the sequester was to hold a gun to the pentagon's head and to poor people's head so that democrats and republicans would both have an incentive to compromise. that's out the window. they would rather have austerity than protect defense spending, which is a whole new shift in the political calculus. >> unexpected one. sfwhoo two things are true. this is a terrible way to govern. it's a terrible way to budget. no rationale person would sit down and say we're just going to have across the board cuts regardless of efficacy of programs. we're going to cut the bad programs as well as the good. no one would do that. the white house put out their numbers last night, the state by state impact numbers. >> the embargo numbers. >> right. you know, we saw them here in new york on the local level, and, obviously, nobody at the local level wants to take a hit. nobody wants to see aid from washington reduced at the local level. there's not going to be blood in the streets. buildings are not going
what's amazing is they want austerity at the expense of the pentagon, and that was the whole purpose of the sequester was to hold a gun to the pentagon's head and to poor people's head so that democrats and republicans would both have an incentive to compromise. that's out the window. they would rather have austerity than protect defense spending, which is a whole new shift in the political calculus. >> unexpected one. sfwhoo two things are true. this is a terrible way to govern. it's a...
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Feb 14, 2013
02/13
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. >> this is, i believe, my final press conference here at the pentagon briefing room. there are moments when i thought i was part of the last act of an italian opera. you're not sure exactly when it would end, and when the fat lady would sing. >> for now the only certainty is much more congressional uncertainty. joy, does leon panetta need a shirt that says "i survived a chuck hagel filibuster and all i got was this lousy t-shirt?" just when he thinks it can't get worse, it's actually seemingly gotten worse. >> this is insane. i mean, last night i went through, and i was looking at the george w. bush cabinet nominations. none of which were filibustered. just for fun. just because i knew we were talking about it. his second term cabinet nominations, the majority went through by voice vote. they didn't even bother to take a poll of the senate. people like michael mukaze sailed through and alberto gonzalez, who went to the bedside of john ashcroft when he was the chief guy to demand that this sick man, this man who was on his bed barely lucid sign off on wiarrantless wire
. >> this is, i believe, my final press conference here at the pentagon briefing room. there are moments when i thought i was part of the last act of an italian opera. you're not sure exactly when it would end, and when the fat lady would sing. >> for now the only certainty is much more congressional uncertainty. joy, does leon panetta need a shirt that says "i survived a chuck hagel filibuster and all i got was this lousy t-shirt?" just when he thinks it can't get worse,...
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Feb 2, 2013
02/13
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did he seem competent to run the pentagon? there were a lot of questions even among democrats after that hearing whether he's ready. >> i don't disagree with that. i think hagel had a really poor performance. what i'm saying is for these senators -- if you looked at what ted cruz was asking about, association with an israeli diplomat that basically 99.9% of the country has never heard of, what was the point of that? he ended up actually stepping on hagel's bad day by taking some of the spotlight away from him. >> let's go after some of the questioning, because i disagree with you and i agree with you. >> not surprised about that. >> what? >> i said i'm not surprised you agree. >> was that sarcasm? let's talk about lindsey graham. when you ask a guy who had already recanted his argument about the power of the israeli lobby, obviously enormously influential lobby like the nra, heavily funded, heavily activated, strong people with strong minds, everybody knows they're influential, that's why they're there. to say which senator do
did he seem competent to run the pentagon? there were a lot of questions even among democrats after that hearing whether he's ready. >> i don't disagree with that. i think hagel had a really poor performance. what i'm saying is for these senators -- if you looked at what ted cruz was asking about, association with an israeli diplomat that basically 99.9% of the country has never heard of, what was the point of that? he ended up actually stepping on hagel's bad day by taking some of the...
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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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we are never again going to get to cut the pentagon back. the pentagon hasn't had any significant cuts for 30 years. >> josh green, is that the political equivalent of a liger, a lion and tiger combined to make an animal we have never seen before. rand paul and howard dean agreeing that the sequester should go through because, hey, defense -- >> hadn't occurred to me in quite those terms, but, yes, i suppose it could be a liger. >> there have always been contingent of liberal democrats that have wanted to go after the pentagon because its budget has grown enormously since 9/11. what you haven't had is a kind of republican analog. there have been a few people here, walter jones, congressman in north carolina, ron paul, in fact, was a big advocate of this, but only in the last couple of years, and really only in the last 18 months since the sequester cuts have loomed have you seen this tension between small government anti-tax republicans and pro-defense republicans. it's really a sort of tug-of-war between their two interests. traditionally t
we are never again going to get to cut the pentagon back. the pentagon hasn't had any significant cuts for 30 years. >> josh green, is that the political equivalent of a liger, a lion and tiger combined to make an animal we have never seen before. rand paul and howard dean agreeing that the sequester should go through because, hey, defense -- >> hadn't occurred to me in quite those terms, but, yes, i suppose it could be a liger. >> there have always been contingent of liberal...
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Feb 4, 2013
02/13
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the political swagger, if you will, that secretary of defense immediate to both operate inside the pentagon, and that's -- you heard robert gibbs, former press secretary yesterday say it was a little disconcerting watching him give those answers. they made a strategic decision not to have a debate with those republican senators. trying to not start fights, but was he too passive? >> there was a way to push back. david sanger, he could have said i disagree with you about the surge. senator mccain, you're my great friend, but let's talk about what's really going on. we have 66,000 troops at afghanistan right now. he didn't pivot. he didn't push back. he didn't fight. david brooks, your columnist in "the "new york times"" suggested to chuck this weekend that he should even go so far as saying to the president, mr. president, do you have second thoughts? should i withdraw? that's rather more than i would have expected at this point. >> you know, i think there were two remarkable elements to the testimony that former senator hagel gave. he seemed unprepared on basic issues. we were discussing ir
the political swagger, if you will, that secretary of defense immediate to both operate inside the pentagon, and that's -- you heard robert gibbs, former press secretary yesterday say it was a little disconcerting watching him give those answers. they made a strategic decision not to have a debate with those republican senators. trying to not start fights, but was he too passive? >> there was a way to push back. david sanger, he could have said i disagree with you about the surge. senator...
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Feb 6, 2013
02/13
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. >>> on the heels of the boy scouts decision, the pentagon is announcing a policy shift for guy service members and partners. leon panetta expected to extend benefits to partners of personnel. it remains doubtful that medical, down theal and housing allowances are offered under the new proposal. an extension of those benefits require the repeal of the 1996 defense of marriage act. >>> here's a first look this morning at your morning dish of scrambled politics. >>> the president should be used to cameras snapping away at him in the white house. but he read a statement about the economic plan he reacted to the distraction. >> what's up, cameraman? come on, guys. they're breaking my flow all the time. >> the white house released a photo yesterday of the president working with aides on a speech. coincidentally, the chief speechwriter seen on the right is leaving the white house. he's going to be taking his writing skills to hollywood. >>> a new action figure of president obama is on sale showing him with a shotgun. perfect for skeet shooting. >>> dick morris left fox news after an amazing s
. >>> on the heels of the boy scouts decision, the pentagon is announcing a policy shift for guy service members and partners. leon panetta expected to extend benefits to partners of personnel. it remains doubtful that medical, down theal and housing allowances are offered under the new proposal. an extension of those benefits require the repeal of the 1996 defense of marriage act. >>> here's a first look this morning at your morning dish of scrambled politics. >>>...
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Feb 14, 2013
02/13
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that's not healthy to run the pentagon is it? >> this is what obama wants, though. >> you think he wants a weak secretary of defense? >> he's critical of defense spending and that's the kind of -- >> don't you think he wants someone to run the place the. >> he's popular with us ex-enlisted men. let me point this out. >> you bring up a good point. >> the policy at the pentagon or wherever else -- >> shameless plug. >> pets alive, a rescue organization in new york. check it out, petsalive.com. >> all right. mr. page? >> all right, the new republic read in the "new york times," two very good pieces on how the republican party can bring blacks back into the party again. very important issue, i think. >> great behind the scenes piece on politico today, my colleague alex burns about how all of these grass roots conservative outfits in the crossroads project, by the same two pr firms in the beltway. >> there you go. that's it for this edition of the "daily rundown." our shameless plug is to all spouses out there. happy valentine's day.
that's not healthy to run the pentagon is it? >> this is what obama wants, though. >> you think he wants a weak secretary of defense? >> he's critical of defense spending and that's the kind of -- >> don't you think he wants someone to run the place the. >> he's popular with us ex-enlisted men. let me point this out. >> you bring up a good point. >> the policy at the pentagon or wherever else -- >> shameless plug. >> pets alive, a rescue...
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Feb 13, 2013
02/13
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they had the inspector general here at the pentagon launching an investigation. after this exhausted investigation which was finally concluded and it was determined that general allen was involved in no misconduct, no inappropriate language or communications with this socialite, he was cleared of that. in the meantime, his nomination to be the supreme allied commander of europe had been put on hold. the white house has not yet although they support allen has not yet sent that nomination back to the hill and we are told that general allen may not and is strongly considering withdrawing from the nomination because he doesn't want to resurrect that controversy and put he and his family through it. one other thing. there may be family health issues involved here. again, he has not met with president obama and we are told that if president obama tries to talk him into it to go ahead and accept the nomination that it is likely that general allen would decline. >> thank you very much. we are following another breaking news story. the search for the former l.a. cop accus
they had the inspector general here at the pentagon launching an investigation. after this exhausted investigation which was finally concluded and it was determined that general allen was involved in no misconduct, no inappropriate language or communications with this socialite, he was cleared of that. in the meantime, his nomination to be the supreme allied commander of europe had been put on hold. the white house has not yet although they support allen has not yet sent that nomination back to...
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Feb 7, 2013
02/13
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the pentagon says it will reduce the naval presence in the persian gulf. plans for the uss harry truman carrier to head to the gulf this week have been canceled. that would leave one carrier in the region. defense secretary leon panetta warns under the cuts pentagon workers could face furloughs saying, this is not a game this is reality. >>> vice president joe biden made an emotional appeal to house democrats last night urging them to support the obama administration's gun control agenda. biden choked up while speaking about the recent tragedy at sandy hook and recounted examples of 1600 deaths since that day. his tone turned emphatic reminding audience as their obligation as lawmakers to act. >> when people tell me that you can't prevent these kinds of occurrences, that doesn't mean we can't do something to god forbid if it happens again diminish the carnage. it matters. it matters. >> speaking to those worried about the political consequences of backing controversial gun legislation, biden argued "i promise you, times have changed." >>> new jersey govern
the pentagon says it will reduce the naval presence in the persian gulf. plans for the uss harry truman carrier to head to the gulf this week have been canceled. that would leave one carrier in the region. defense secretary leon panetta warns under the cuts pentagon workers could face furloughs saying, this is not a game this is reality. >>> vice president joe biden made an emotional appeal to house democrats last night urging them to support the obama administration's gun control...
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Feb 6, 2013
02/13
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the pentagon will soon provide some benefits to military partners of don't ask don't tell. leon panetta hasn't finalized which would be provided. a formal announcement is expected in the next several days. and lunesta®(eszopiclone) can help you get there. like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. lunesta should not be taken together with alcohol. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness, and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then find out how to get lunesta for as low as fifteen dollars at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sl
the pentagon will soon provide some benefits to military partners of don't ask don't tell. leon panetta hasn't finalized which would be provided. a formal announcement is expected in the next several days. and lunesta®(eszopiclone) can help you get there. like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been...
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Feb 21, 2013
02/13
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the pentagon will be hit by this. that same set of polling far more americans would blame republicans if what they call the sequester kicks in. less than one third would hold the president accountable. still more than a week away, already it appears the writing is on the wall. civilian employees have been told by the pentagon they'll be placed on unpaid leave, at least one day a week. democrats are calling for congress to reconvene to deal with this mess. secretary of state john kerry is reminding his former colleagues that actions here at home do have global implications. >> it's often said that we cannot be strong at home if we're not strong in the world, but in these days of a looming budget sequester that everyone actually wants to avoid or most, we can't be strong in the world unless we are strong at home. my credibility as a diplomat to create order is strongest when america at last puts its own fiscal house in order and that has to be now. let's reach a responsible agreement that prevents these senseless cuts.
the pentagon will be hit by this. that same set of polling far more americans would blame republicans if what they call the sequester kicks in. less than one third would hold the president accountable. still more than a week away, already it appears the writing is on the wall. civilian employees have been told by the pentagon they'll be placed on unpaid leave, at least one day a week. democrats are calling for congress to reconvene to deal with this mess. secretary of state john kerry is...
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Feb 24, 2013
02/13
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we should cut the pentagon budget, right? we at the center for american progress would cut the pentagon budget dramatically, not as much as sequestration because we do think you need a glide path. but i disagree with this premise. you are seeing on both sides much more interest in cutting the pentagon budget. but the challenge is we should be focused on economic growth. economic growth for the middle class and competitiveness over the long term. and what's wrong with sequestration is not to me in my mind the pentagon cuts, but the cuts to all the things that matter that we all argue about matter to middle class families and poor families, which is pre-k, education, learning, and research brands that drive innovation in our economy. so as a progressive -- hold on. no, no, as a progressive i say we can have a balanced approach that actually thinks about competitiveness and growth and inequality and reducing inequality over the long term. we should cut the pentagon budget but this is a dumb way to do it. and as progressives we s
we should cut the pentagon budget, right? we at the center for american progress would cut the pentagon budget dramatically, not as much as sequestration because we do think you need a glide path. but i disagree with this premise. you are seeing on both sides much more interest in cutting the pentagon budget. but the challenge is we should be focused on economic growth. economic growth for the middle class and competitiveness over the long term. and what's wrong with sequestration is not to me...
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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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you know there, have been tons of programs in the pentagon that the pentagon never wanted. that congresspeople have put in there. >> sure. howard dean, great to have you with us. always. >> thanks. >> appreciate it. wayne lapierre might be one of the greatest hucksters of all time. i'll show you what's behind his paranoia campaign next. tea party backers show a perverse sense of humor by creating a hillary clinton sex tape. david corn broke the story. he joins us on the panel tonight. stay with us. first kid you ready? [ female announcer ] second kid by their second kid, every mom is an expert and more likely to choose luvs. after thousands of diaper changes, they know what works. luvs lock away wetness better than huggies for a fraction of the cost live, learn, & get luvs. in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. tak
you know there, have been tons of programs in the pentagon that the pentagon never wanted. that congresspeople have put in there. >> sure. howard dean, great to have you with us. always. >> thanks. >> appreciate it. wayne lapierre might be one of the greatest hucksters of all time. i'll show you what's behind his paranoia campaign next. tea party backers show a perverse sense of humor by creating a hillary clinton sex tape. david corn broke the story. he joins us on the panel...
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Feb 20, 2013
02/13
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today secretary of defense leon panetta notified congress of the pentagon's plan to furlough 700,000 civilian employees, who, beginning in april, will be required to take one day off per week. in essence, a 20% pay cut. as for the current political geist, this seems to be more about political positioning rather than prevention. this afternoon, the president will sit down with local tv anchors to explain the adverse effects of the coming cuts. meanwhile, speaker john boehner is out with an op-ed in today's "wall street journal" entitled "the president is reigning against a budget crisis he created." the same budget crisis speaker boehner and 173 of his house republicans voted for back in 2011. as a reminder, this is how he described the deal at the time. >> you know, i got 98% of what i wanted. i'm pretty happy. >> what is making speaker boehner unhappy with the present situation? quote, no one should be talking about raising taxes when the government is still paying people to play video games, giving folks free cell phones, and buying $47,000 gre cigarette-smoking machines. joining m
today secretary of defense leon panetta notified congress of the pentagon's plan to furlough 700,000 civilian employees, who, beginning in april, will be required to take one day off per week. in essence, a 20% pay cut. as for the current political geist, this seems to be more about political positioning rather than prevention. this afternoon, the president will sit down with local tv anchors to explain the adverse effects of the coming cuts. meanwhile, speaker john boehner is out with an op-ed...
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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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you know there, have been tons of programs in the pentagon that the pentagon never wanted. that congresspeople have put in there. >> sure. howard dean, great to have you with us. always. >> thanks. >> appreciate it. wayne lapierre might be one of the greatest hucksters of all time. i'll show you what's behind his paranoia campaign next. tea party backers show a perverse sense of humor by creating a hillary clinton sex tape. david corn broke the story. he joins us on the panel tonight. stay with us. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪ i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. â
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Feb 23, 2013
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>> the pentagon has its job to do. i think it came up at a press briefing where a spokesman for the bg was asked what they're doing about it. i think what they said is they're reviewing it to see if there were any problems. in fact, the special operations command which oversees special operations including s.e.a.l. team six has already said they don't really see much of a problem in there in term of classified information. and keep in mind, alex, there have been movies, there have been books, there have been other articles, there have been documentaries all about the raid. there's very little. it's passed into kind of american folklore at this point. there's really very little that's new. what's new in the esquire story was essentially this guy's perspective. >> was he saying to you when you were doing the interview, did he say look, i can't talk about this because it's classified? was he aware of that? did he make that clear to you? >> yeah. i mean it was an evolution. an evolution that took place over about a year an
>> the pentagon has its job to do. i think it came up at a press briefing where a spokesman for the bg was asked what they're doing about it. i think what they said is they're reviewing it to see if there were any problems. in fact, the special operations command which oversees special operations including s.e.a.l. team six has already said they don't really see much of a problem in there in term of classified information. and keep in mind, alex, there have been movies, there have been...
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Feb 26, 2013
02/13
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apparently they're happy to take the whacks at the pentagon in the interest of cutting spending overall. who would have expected this? apparently the president didn't. and can the republicans get away with it? >>> republicans in two key states are up to something now. they're not giving up on schemes to rejigger the electoral college. they're out to help their candidates next time. republicans figure if they can't win in the system, they're just out to change it. they're flagrant about it. >>> last, the oscars is about all of us. america is back in a winning mood. >>> finally, in case you didn't realize it, michelle obama has got moves. ♪ that cross dresser there on the left, of course, is jimmy fallon. the first lady's evolution of mom dancing with jimmy fallon. that's tonight in the "sideshow." and this is "hardball," the place for politics. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes c
apparently they're happy to take the whacks at the pentagon in the interest of cutting spending overall. who would have expected this? apparently the president didn't. and can the republicans get away with it? >>> republicans in two key states are up to something now. they're not giving up on schemes to rejigger the electoral college. they're out to help their candidates next time. republicans figure if they can't win in the system, they're just out to change it. they're flagrant about...
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Feb 4, 2013
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i should just say i think it's $500 and $500 billion on domestic and pentagon side. either way, there's not been really anything even near a deal to deal with sequestration, partially because of how it actually got constructed in the first place. initially, the idea behind the sequestration was it was the backstop for the super committee, meant to be the thing that neither party could allow to happen, thus it would force them to come to a deal in the super committee. obviously, they have been able to allow it to happen enough that they didn't come to a deal in the super committee and now they can't seem to find anything they like better, because republicans wouldn't allow tax increases in it and as such, they gave democrats spending cuts that are very friendly to democratic priorities, medicaid is fully exempted, social security is protected, veterans benefits and pell grants are protected. nobody has a really great incentive to change it because nobody has anything that they really like that much better. >> does that mean, because this is what's gotten us here, a te
i should just say i think it's $500 and $500 billion on domestic and pentagon side. either way, there's not been really anything even near a deal to deal with sequestration, partially because of how it actually got constructed in the first place. initially, the idea behind the sequestration was it was the backstop for the super committee, meant to be the thing that neither party could allow to happen, thus it would force them to come to a deal in the super committee. obviously, they have been...
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Feb 20, 2013
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. >>> the pentagon today passed a plan to furlough 8,000 workers if the cuts take effect. it's shameful. and the president is fighting that. today, he gave interviews to 8 different tv shows around the country, demand gd the gop stop these spending cuts, and, instead, close loopholes for the rich. >> instead of us cutting education, mental health programs and a whole range of other things that are really important, we should be focused on programs that we know don't work, waste in government and some of these tax holes that, frankly, only benefit the well-off and the well connected. now i only need congress to act and they've got 9 days to do it. >> the president is fighting to stop these cuts. but as we said last night, if they do happen, you'll know who to thank. if your child loses the head start program, thank the republicans. if you have to pay more for your milk because of the food inspectors, thank the republicans. and if you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people who lose their jobs, remember to thank the republicans. joining me now is joy reed and jared sps
. >>> the pentagon today passed a plan to furlough 8,000 workers if the cuts take effect. it's shameful. and the president is fighting that. today, he gave interviews to 8 different tv shows around the country, demand gd the gop stop these spending cuts, and, instead, close loopholes for the rich. >> instead of us cutting education, mental health programs and a whole range of other things that are really important, we should be focused on programs that we know don't work, waste...
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Feb 1, 2013
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and you know i'm qualified for this job to be the head of the pentagon, defense secretary. it was almost like he was stunned by it. your thoughts. >> i think you're right. i think it was very personal. i was stunned by it, too. especially the way mccain kept pursuing it and pursuing it. clearly, john wanted chuck to say yes, i was wrong and you were right. and of course the verdict of history, as hagel tried to say, is still out on that. and frankly, in my view as a soldier, the surge had almost nothing to do with the actual increase in american troops. what it had to do was the coincidence of a number of things that were already moving in iraq. not least of which was the awakening. and it had to do with very frankly a general by the name of david petraeus taking advantage of this in order to enhance his own reputation. and as far as i'm concerned, the increase in troops had nothing to do with the change in the situation in iraq except that it got a bunch of them killed, as senator hagel was careful to point out. >> and that is paralleling his opening comments, which you ta
and you know i'm qualified for this job to be the head of the pentagon, defense secretary. it was almost like he was stunned by it. your thoughts. >> i think you're right. i think it was very personal. i was stunned by it, too. especially the way mccain kept pursuing it and pursuing it. clearly, john wanted chuck to say yes, i was wrong and you were right. and of course the verdict of history, as hagel tried to say, is still out on that. and frankly, in my view as a soldier, the surge had...
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Feb 2, 2013
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is the right man to take over at the pentagon. we will ask two highly decorated veterans. >>> and later on, the super bowl weekend, we will get the brain trust's take on who will take home the vince lombardi trophy down in the big easy. first, this unique image of president bomb, this photo released of the president skeet shooting at camp david last summer. the president's mention of the skeet shooting experience in a magazine created skepticism, and the nra has responded to the photo saying that one picture does not erase a lifetime of supporting every gun ban and every gun control scheme imaginable los angeles may, antonio vieira goes a. the mayor saying friday that he will finish out his term as mayor. and barney, that beloved scottish terrier of president bush died after a battle with cancer. barney was a faithful friend and will be much missed. barney was 12-1/2 years old. >>> well she was a former first lady. a former senator from new york and now hillary clinton is a former secretary of state after visiting 112 countries an
is the right man to take over at the pentagon. we will ask two highly decorated veterans. >>> and later on, the super bowl weekend, we will get the brain trust's take on who will take home the vince lombardi trophy down in the big easy. first, this unique image of president bomb, this photo released of the president skeet shooting at camp david last summer. the president's mention of the skeet shooting experience in a magazine created skepticism, and the nra has responded to the photo...
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Feb 26, 2013
02/13
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hagel, meanwhile, already working out of the pentagon for weeks preparing for the transition and first battle will be a budget war. the dod is faced with cuts even in the next seven months alone of $43 billion. cuts to training, grounded planes, docked warships. all things the president referred to today at a shipyard. >> main reason i'm here is to call attention to the important work you're doing on behalf of the nation's defense and to let the american people know that this work along with hundreds of thousands of jobs are currently in jeopardy because of politics in washington. these cuts are wrong. they're not smart. they're not fair. >> michael hersh is chief correspondent at "the national journal." so let's start there. there's this notion that if he's confirmed and i think we all expect that he will be that he'll enter defense in some kind of a weakened position after not so great confirmation hearing and then this really okay ro moan you battle over the confirmation. what kind of tangible consequences will that have? how will the job as defense secretary be more difficult becau
hagel, meanwhile, already working out of the pentagon for weeks preparing for the transition and first battle will be a budget war. the dod is faced with cuts even in the next seven months alone of $43 billion. cuts to training, grounded planes, docked warships. all things the president referred to today at a shipyard. >> main reason i'm here is to call attention to the important work you're doing on behalf of the nation's defense and to let the american people know that this work along...
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Feb 4, 2013
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hagel's appointment could threaten future relationships in the pentagon in his ability to do the job. >> if i were chuck hagel i'd go to the president and say do you still have confidence in me? do you think i could do the job. >> you would offer to potentially withdraw? >> you've got to if you think you're not going to be effective because of what's happened. >> the whole issue isn't getting confirmed. it's whether he'll have political capital as defense secretary to work with the congress and generals in a meaningful way. >>> coming up next, part of a one on one discussion i had with a man who has had just about every powerful position in washington other than the presidency, defense secretary leon panetta on his four decades in washington, the morality of drone strikes and advice he has for president obama. >>> plus the pack men, karl rove's new plan to pour cold water on the tea party and keep senate seats in the republican column. today's politics planner, as you can see, former president clinton will be speaking at ed koch's funeral, president obama is off to minneapolis and chr
hagel's appointment could threaten future relationships in the pentagon in his ability to do the job. >> if i were chuck hagel i'd go to the president and say do you still have confidence in me? do you think i could do the job. >> you would offer to potentially withdraw? >> you've got to if you think you're not going to be effective because of what's happened. >> the whole issue isn't getting confirmed. it's whether he'll have political capital as defense secretary to...
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Feb 10, 2013
02/13
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not only is virginia home to the pentagon, the largest navy base in norfolk, it's a hub for defense contractors, such as aircraft carrier builders, nondefense budget cuts would eliminate another 71,000-plus jobs in virginia. so, the impact over 200,000 jobs, second only to california. you can't want this automatic spending cut to go forward. >> you know, clearly, this is not, david, the best way to go about trying to control spending, and we have demonstrated in the house for two separate occasions. one of the bills that we put across the floor that passed i was a sponsor of for exactly that reason. these are indiscriminate cuts. we can do a lot better. and what i hope to be able to hear from the president in the state of the union is he wants to join us in trying to effect much smarter cuts in spending so we don't have to have -- >> but that's what he's saying. >> so we don't have to have the impact that you discussed. >> why not work with him on some short-term measure that he's talking about to delay this, try to find a different way to go about these cuts? >> the problem is, david, every ti
not only is virginia home to the pentagon, the largest navy base in norfolk, it's a hub for defense contractors, such as aircraft carrier builders, nondefense budget cuts would eliminate another 71,000-plus jobs in virginia. so, the impact over 200,000 jobs, second only to california. you can't want this automatic spending cut to go forward. >> you know, clearly, this is not, david, the best way to go about trying to control spending, and we have demonstrated in the house for two separate...
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Feb 18, 2013
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. >>> president obama's nominee to run the pentagon will have to wait at least another week for an up or down vote in the senate. but it now appears chuck hagel will get that vote when senators return. at least two top republicans say they will stop efforts to stall his confirmation. that filibuster came a day after hagel was approved by the armed services by a party-line vote. one of his most vocal opponents says while he doesn't believe hagel is qualified, he won't hold up the process. >> i thought we had an agreement to wait a week so the remaining questions would be answered, but i understand the white house wanted a vote. they got a vote. we will have a vote when we get back. i'm confident that senator hagel will probably have the votes necessary to be confirmed as the secretary of defense. >> the gop it says blocked hagel's nomination in an effort to further examine his record and views on israel and iran. senate majority leader harry reid hopes to bring a final vote to the floor when congress goes back in session next monday. >>> residents in coastal new england are cleaning up
. >>> president obama's nominee to run the pentagon will have to wait at least another week for an up or down vote in the senate. but it now appears chuck hagel will get that vote when senators return. at least two top republicans say they will stop efforts to stall his confirmation. that filibuster came a day after hagel was approved by the armed services by a party-line vote. one of his most vocal opponents says while he doesn't believe hagel is qualified, he won't hold up the...
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Feb 3, 2013
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joining me now, a member of the bush pentagon's defense policy board, michael hastings author of the new digital book "panic 2012, the sublime and terrifying inside story of obama's final campaign ♪ ♪ barbara siegel, also washington correspondent for the middle east website al monitor.com. great to have you all here. >> thank you. >> so i am -- well, where to start? i think the lessons unlearned to me was the most troubling. it seemed to me we had a moment in 2008 particularly in which president obama articulated this kind of alternative foreign policy vision and did so quite forthrightly. for instance, negotiations with iran and ahmadinejad. and somehow four years later, we've moved backwards, right? the old -- i guess as we've gotten further away from the debacle of iraq, as that's more remote in people's memory, there's more and more the sense of iraq ended up okay and you saw this -- i thought it was so interesting, it was the relitigation of the surge. because that in some ways is this key narrative plot point that somehow redeem tess entire war. and so you saw, for instance
joining me now, a member of the bush pentagon's defense policy board, michael hastings author of the new digital book "panic 2012, the sublime and terrifying inside story of obama's final campaign ♪ ♪ barbara siegel, also washington correspondent for the middle east website al monitor.com. great to have you all here. >> thank you. >> so i am -- well, where to start? i think the lessons unlearned to me was the most troubling. it seemed to me we had a moment in 2008...
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Feb 14, 2013
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again, hillary clinton receiving an award there at the pentagon just moments ago. we'll continue to watch that and we'll have more right after the break. tely so this is a big deal, our first full team gathering! i wanted to call on a few people. ashley, ashley marshall... here. since we're often all on the move, ashley suggested we use fedex office to hold packages for us. great job. [ applause ] thank you. and on a protocol note, i'd like to talk to tim hill about his tendency to use all caps in emails. [ shouting ] oh i'm sorry guys. ah sometimes the caps lock gets stuck on my keyboard. hey do you wanna get a drink later? [ male announcer ] hold packages at any fedex office location. begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. >>> the ceo of the nra is outlining a new plan of action against gun control proposals in a new op-ed titled "stand and fight." wayne lapierre lays out his plan and explains his case for why owning a gun is not about
again, hillary clinton receiving an award there at the pentagon just moments ago. we'll continue to watch that and we'll have more right after the break. tely so this is a big deal, our first full team gathering! i wanted to call on a few people. ashley, ashley marshall... here. since we're often all on the move, ashley suggested we use fedex office to hold packages for us. great job. [ applause ] thank you. and on a protocol note, i'd like to talk to tim hill about his tendency to use all caps...
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Feb 12, 2013
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combat troops from afghanistan by the end of 2014, and some savings in the pentagon. so, i mean, it can't be a surprise that he would choose someone for the -- for his top, you know, for these top cabinet jobs, that are going to be on the side of what he wants to do. the fact that senator hagel is a republican, it helps the fact that he's a former senator. it helps, and, you know, the fact that he is a combat veteran himself, from vietnam, i think also gives him credibility in dealing with these issues. it's going to be contentious. we know that when these sequestration budget cuts come up in just a couple weeks on march 1st, that we would expect to hear senator hagel's voice on those cuts as well. >> again, that vote is coming up this afternoon at 2:45. that just announced by senator levin. so we should have some forward motion on that vote. thanks to the power panel today, chip saltsman, ben labolt, and a happy birthday to susan page. we understand it's your birthday, falling on the state of the union, how lucky is that. thanks, gang. as the president gets ready to
combat troops from afghanistan by the end of 2014, and some savings in the pentagon. so, i mean, it can't be a surprise that he would choose someone for the -- for his top, you know, for these top cabinet jobs, that are going to be on the side of what he wants to do. the fact that senator hagel is a republican, it helps the fact that he's a former senator. it helps, and, you know, the fact that he is a combat veteran himself, from vietnam, i think also gives him credibility in dealing with...
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Feb 11, 2013
02/13
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not only is virginia home to the pentagon, the world's largest u.s. navy base, but a hub for major defense contractors such as aircraft builders. so the impact over 200,000 jobs, second only to california. you can't want this automatic spending cut to go forward. >> you know, clearly this is not, david, the best way to go about trying to chroontrol spending. and we have demonstrated in the house two separate occasions -- one of the bills we put across the floor and passed i was the sponsor of for that reason. these are indiscriminate cuts. we can do a lot better. what i hope to be able to hear from the president in the state of the union is he wants to join us in trying to effect much smarter cuts in spending. >> but that's what he's saying. >> we don't have to have the impact that you just described. >> why not work with him on short-term measure which he is talking about to delay this, find a different way to go about some of the cuts? >> the problem is, david, every time you turn around the answer is to raise taxes. and, you know, he just got his t
not only is virginia home to the pentagon, the world's largest u.s. navy base, but a hub for major defense contractors such as aircraft builders. so the impact over 200,000 jobs, second only to california. you can't want this automatic spending cut to go forward. >> you know, clearly this is not, david, the best way to go about trying to chroontrol spending. and we have demonstrated in the house two separate occasions -- one of the bills we put across the floor and passed i was the...
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Feb 6, 2013
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if you could say would you recall holler at the pentagon or increase taxes, i would assume the latter to make sure that we didn't lose our capability to maintain our super power status. as conservatives celebrate what would have been ronald reagan's 102nd birthday, a reminder that even the beginner raised taxes 11 times during his presidency in compromise with democrats. given that, finding common ground both inside and outside the party might not be such a bad look. john meacham, i will give you the first question. welcome to the program. we're so happy to have you here. >> thank you. >> is this rebranding effort going to work for the republican party? >> it might because it depends himself on what it is rebranding itself against as events unfold. so president obama has about 12 months here. >> don't you think in terms of who they are rebranding against, the competition, if you will, if we're talking marketplace term, the democrats thus far, for the most part the democrats kind of have it together in a way they historically have not. >> well, sort of. i mean, we still don't have a bu
if you could say would you recall holler at the pentagon or increase taxes, i would assume the latter to make sure that we didn't lose our capability to maintain our super power status. as conservatives celebrate what would have been ronald reagan's 102nd birthday, a reminder that even the beginner raised taxes 11 times during his presidency in compromise with democrats. given that, finding common ground both inside and outside the party might not be such a bad look. john meacham, i will give...
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the relationship between the pentagon and the state department seems to have changed as well. how will he weigh in on that? >> yeah, those are good questions. i think if i could just take two examples. with syria and also with afghanistan, you have questions of where the united states has to figure out some next policy steps that are pretty big and get to the question you raise, the balance between troops possibly, between diplomatic advisers, development experts, cia operatives, and where policy in the case of afghanistan has to make some changes, but it's generally on a predetermined course but it's going to have to vary quite a bit because we're drawing down troops now. in syria i think what we have is a policy for all the good intentions hasn't really worked. and if i were secretary kerry, i would probably commission my best people to do a two to four-week study on fundamentally new options in syria. where i think the united states has to recognize that what it's been doing so far hasn't been adequate and yet the country is in no mood for another 100,000 strong invasion an
the relationship between the pentagon and the state department seems to have changed as well. how will he weigh in on that? >> yeah, those are good questions. i think if i could just take two examples. with syria and also with afghanistan, you have questions of where the united states has to figure out some next policy steps that are pretty big and get to the question you raise, the balance between troops possibly, between diplomatic advisers, development experts, cia operatives, and...